Type-writing machine.



' 1- v90,591.- PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

C. DE L. RICE.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0012.15, 1904.

w vtmaood V I awuc l vtom M ,Oimxfl W 00% 1 A2 flbtozmm m7 UNITED STATES Patented May 23, 1905.

PATENT ()FFICE.

CHARLES DE LCS RICE, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO UNDERWOOD TYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A COR- PORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TYPE-WRITING- MACHINE.

- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,591, dated May 23, 1905;

Application filed. October 15, 1904:- Serial No. 228,538.

To all whom, it may concern: I 1 Be it known that I, CHARLns DE Los RIoE, a

citizen of the United States, residing in Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type-VVriting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of the keys of type-writing machines and the like. There is usually employed in the construction of such keys a cup struck up or otherwise formed from brass or other sheet metal, within which is placed a paper disk bearing a character, and over the paper disk is placed a glass disk, which is held on by a cap, the latterv inclosing the cup and having portions bent thereunder to secure all the parts permanently together. The cup is attached to a lever-operating stem, this being done in the well-known Underwood type of machine by secu ring to the cup a socket which is adaptedv to fit down tightly over the stem formed upon the sheet-metal key-lever, the socket being-usually in the form of a thin flattened tube, upon whose upper end are ears that project within the cup and are turned over upon the bottom thereof. In forming such keys it is usual to interpose an annular support between the paper disk and the bottom of the cup, so that said disk may not contact with said ears. In some cases the solder which is employed to secure the socket to the cup forms lumps in the bottom of the cup, owing to whose presence the glass is liable to become broken when in use.

The object of my invention is to strengthen the key, to reduce the number of parts, and

otherwise lessen the cost of production, and

to avoid all liability of breaking of the glass in use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved key applied to the lever of an Underwood typewriting machine. Fig. 2 is a front sectional view, and Fig. 3 a side sectional View, of the cup and attached socket. Fig. 4 is a bottom 3, is struck up from sheet metal, the middle portion of the bottom being depressed, as at 4:, to form a boss 5 on the under side of the cup, Fig. 4. The boss is then transversely slotted, as at 6, to its full depth-or height or so that the top of theslot is flush with the under side of the bottom 3 of the cup, as at Fig. 7. A short length of tubing 7 is then inserted in the slot 6, thetubin'g being flattened sothat it is adapted to fit tightly uponfthe stem 8 of a type-operating or other lever 9 and used as a socket-piece for connecting the cup 1 to the stem 8. This tubing or stem member 7 fits tightly within the slot 6 and bears against the under side of the cup, as. seen clearly at Figs. 3 and 7 Preferably the. di-

ameter of the boss" 5, Which is ofvspher'ical shape, is about equal to the widthfof-the mem-' ber 7, as illustrated, so that'when the latter is inserted in the slot only its outer corners touch the bottom of the cup, as at Fig. 7, said corners taking against the bearings 10, formed by the slotting operation, Fig. 5. The portion of the stem member or socket 7 which projects within the cavity 4 forms a partition dividing the cavity into two portions, within which areplaced bits of solder 11. Heat is then applied to melt the solder, which when melted works into and fills all portions of the joint between the cup and the socket and also if suflicient in quantity may form a solid filling between the socket and the bottom of the cavity 4, as at 12, Fig. 2.

A disk 13, of paper or card and bearing a character,'as at 14:, Fig. 1, is placed in the cup and may rest directly upon the bottom thereof, so that no separate annular support is necessary, the portion of said bottom which is outside of the depression 4 itself forming a broad annular support, as at 14:, Fig. 6, and standing well above the top of the member 7, as seen at Figs. 2 and 8, so that the glass disk 15, placed over said disk 13, is not liable to become broken by being pressed down against said member 7 while the cavity 1 is of suflieient capacity to contain any surplus of solder, so that the latter cannot form a protuberance rising above the annular floor 1 1, whereby liability of breaking of the glass in use is altogether avoided.

Over the glass disk is placed a cap 16, the sides 17 of which inclose the cup 1, ears 18 or other portions of the cap being turned beneath the cup, Figs. 1 and 9, to secure the cap and disks upon the cup.

It will be noticed that the boss extends for a considerable distance down the sides of the socket, thus forming a substantial brace for the cup thereon, thus rendering the structure extremely rigid, while making the boss the full width of said socket, as seen at Figs. 3 and 7 contributes also to the strength of the key. The boss may, however, be otherwise formed, and variations in other respects may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, which is applicable also to keys whose cups are to be secured directly to the stems or stem members 8, althoughI prefer to employ the socket for convenience in attaching to and detaching from the levers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a type-writer key, the combination of a cup struck up from sheet metal, the middle portion of the cup-bottom being depressed to form a boss on the under side of the cup, and said boss being transversely slotted for its entire width, and a flat stem member entirely filling and fitted tightly in the slot.

2. In a type-writer key, the combination of a cup struck up from sheet metal, a portion of the cup-bottom being depressed to form a boss on the under side of the cup, and said boss being transversely slotted to its full height, and a stem member fitted tightly in the slot and bearing against the under side of the cup.

3. In a type-writer key, the combination of a cup struck up from sheet metal, a portion of the cup-bottom being depressed to form a boss on the under side of the cup, said boss being formed with a transverse slot, said slot extending through the entire width and depth of the boss, and a flat stem member filling entirely and fitted in the slot and soldered to the cup.

4:. In a type-writer key, the combination of a cup struck up from sheet metal, the central portion of the cup-bottom being depressed to form a spherical boss on the under side of the cup, said boss being transversely slotted to its full height, and a flat tubular stem-socket inserted in said slot and bearing against the bottom of the cup at the edges of the depression therein, and soldered to the cup.

5. In a type-writer key, the combination of a cup struck up from sheet metal and consisting of a rim and a bottom, the bottom having a depressed portion provided with a transverse slot, a flat tubular stem-socket inserted in the slot, and means securing the cup to the stem-socket.

6. In a type-writer key, the combination of a cup struck up from sheet metal, the bottom of the cup having a portion depressed to form a boss on the under side of the cup, said boss being transversely slotted, a stem member secured in the slot, a character-bearingdisk resting directly upon the bottom of the cup, aglass over said disk, and a cap confining the glass and having portions turned beneath the cup.

7 A cup for a type-writer key, struck up from sheet metal and consisting of a rim and a bottom, the bottom being depressed to form a boss on the under side of the cup, and the boss being transversely slotted for its entire width and depth for the reception of a stem member.

CHARLES DE LOS RICE.

Witnesses:

EDWIN (1. SMITH, HERBERT EASTMAN. 

